New Volunteer Information Sheet

New Volunteer Information Sheet

Our Address: 16 Brent Drive, Hudson

Our Mission:

Fresh Start Furniture Bank helps restore hope, dignity, and stability in our community by recycling donated furniture and housewares for free to people in need.

About Fresh Start:
Fresh Start is a volunteer-based non-profit that collects donations of furniture and home goods from the public and distributes them for free, to people in need. To receive furniture, clients must obtain a referral from a social service agency. Clients then have 30 days to come in and select their furniture and housewares, and must take all of the items they selected on that date. We do not store items for later pick-up.

Our Clients:
Every one of our clients has a story, and we may never know how they ended up in need. They could be escaping domestic violence, moving out of a shelter, in recovery from physical or mental illness, Veterans, refugees, immigrants, recovering from addiction, or working low-wage jobs.

Our clients generally have a lot going on in their lives, so our volunteers need to be patient and calm, making sure that every interaction is treated with dignity and respect.

Our Volunteers:
Along with our Donors, our Volunteers are our biggest asset. If you have a special talent that you would like to share, please let us know!

Store Hours:

Monday 8:45-12:00

• Store catch-up day - No client appointments or donations accepted

Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:45-12:00

• Donations of housewares and linens are accepted.
• Client appointments are at 9:15 and 10:15.

Saturdays Donations: 8:15-10:30

• All donations on the “what we take” list are accepted.

Saturday Clients: 9:15-12:30

• Client appointments are at 9:30 and 10:30.

What to Wear:

• Please dress comfortably and in layers. Temperatures vary quite a bit in different parts of the building.
• Be prepared to walk outdoors: you may need a warm coat, hat, gloves, or a raincoat.
• Keep in mind that you may get dirty.
• No open-toed shoes.
• Once you volunteer at Fresh Start 3 times, you will receive a green Fresh Start shirt! If you would like a second T-shirt, the cost is $10.

Where to Park:

Volunteers should park on the left side. Parking spots close to the entrance are for clients and donors.

When you Arrive for a Shift:
Please plan to arrive 10-15 minutes before the shift.

• Check-in at the front desk.
• Hang coats on a rack in the front office or sorting area.
• If a problem should arise during a shift, please speak to Sue, Geoff, Bob, or the front desk volunteer.

Volunteers’ Donations:
Donations from volunteers have the same rules as any donors and will be inspected.

To Sign Up for a Volunteer Shift or to Cancel:

• Go to the FSFB Website: FreshStartFurnitureBank.org
• Click on Volunteers
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page to Current Volunteers, click here to logon
• Login using your email address and your password. The default password is fsfb. Click Submit.
• Click on Volunteer Scheduling
• Select the Available radio-button for the date(s) you want to sign up.
• A list of jobs will appear. This is based on your training. Select a job and click “Click here to sign up”.
• You will receive an email of the job role immediately & a reminder will be sent one day prior to that date.
• To cancel, select the Unavailable radio-button, or in your reminder email, click the “I am NOT available” link.

Social Media:
If you are on Facebook, watch for our posts and share them.

Please feel free to take pictures, but ask permission first of any clients or donors.

We use #FreshStartFurnitureBank when tagging photos.

We also post on Instagram.

Please join our private Facebook Fresh Start Furniture Bank Volunteer group!

Questions: Email: volunteers@freshstartfurniturebank.org